Michael Laudrup is on Tottenham’s radar but Real Madrid are considering turning to the Dane in the summer.

As predicted by Grapevine last week Laudrup’s position at Swansea was fragile although it appeared the club would stick with him until the end of the season.

But in the wake of disagreements between
Laudrup and the club over policy in the transfer window matters came to
a head straight after club’s dire 2-0 defeat at West Ham, which
confirmed their slide into the relegation battle.

Plenty to ponder: Michael Laudrup is attracting interest from Tottenham and former club Real Madrid

But despite the split Laudrup’s stint at Swansea has enhanced his reputation as a coach.

Tim Sherwood can still secure a long term future at Tottenham depending on how the rest of the season goes, although there already seems to be tension between him and chairman Daniel Levy.

Sherwood is determined to carve a career out as manager and made it clear that he will not be dictated to by Levy or football director Franco Baldini over buying players.

Real star: Laudrup played for Real Madrid during the 1990s

Should Spurs and Sherwood part company in the summer then Laudrup will be a name on their short list.

But if, as it seems, Carlo Ancelotti will be on his way from Madrid at the end of the season then Laudrup will be in the frame to take charge at the Bernabeu.

Rooney contract standstill with Man United continues

Wayne Rooney has still refused to commit his future to Manchester United.

The club are willing to sign him on a new four-and-a-half-year deal with wages pushing £300,000 a week.

But Rooney is still keeping his options open knowing that come the summer with only a year left on his deal he will be in a huge bargaining position with clubs such as Chelsea and PSG keen to sign him.

Rooney gave an interview to the BBC and was reluctant to talk about his future.

Undecided: Wayne Rooney is yet to sign a new contract at Manchester United

He did admit surpassing Bobby Charlton’s 249 goals for the club is an aim but has clearly yet to decide whether to remain at the club.

Rooney, who is 42 goals shy of Charlton’s club record and 11 behind Charlton’s 49-goal record for England, said diplomatically: ‘It is a great aim for myself to try and get Sir Bobby's record, both at club and international level.

‘It is something which I would like to do. If I can do that I would be really proud because it has stood for a long time.’

Rooney then admitted it will be ‘extremely difficult’ for United to retain their Premier League title.

No kidding.

Target: Rooney says he wants to overtake Sir Bobby Charlton's Manchester United goals record of 249

The defending champions, who face Fulham on Sunday, are seventh and 15 points behind current leaders Arsenal.

‘Realistically, top four has got to be our aim.’

‘Although we always want to win the league title, maybe it's a bit too far. We know it's going to be extremely difficult to win the title.’

Whether or not United qualify for the Champions League next season could well determine Rooney’s decision and indeed the future of Robin van Persie.

And there is another dilemma for the club.

If they fail to make the top four do they then want to finish high enough in the League to qualify for the Europa League?

Chelsea still keen on Falcao

Chelsea are keeping close tabs on the recovery of Radamel Falcao with a view to buying him in the summer.

The Colombian striker, who joined Monaco from Atletico Madrid last summer, is currently battling to overcome a ligament injury to make the World Cup finals.

But the word is he will definitely be fit for next season and reports in France suggest he is ready to move on from Monaco.

Blue is the colour: Monaco's injured striker Radamel Falcao could be on the move to Chelsea in the summer

Chelsea will be spending big money in the summer to bring a top striker to Stamford Bridge and Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa and PSG’s Edinson Cavani are prime targets.

But so too is Falcao, who would cost in the region of £60million.

And given that Jose Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes works closely with Monaco then a move to Chelsea rather than Arsenal, who have also been linked with him, could be on the cards.

iSay

Mon: Chelsea didn’t exactly park the bus to pull off a 1-0 win at Manchester City. It was more Ali-style rope-a-dope tactics. But the more Jose Mourinho talks down the Blues’ title hopes the more they look like they could be boarding an open-top bus at the end of the season.

Tues: To be fair to Adrian Chiles, he at least said that the Fulham v Sheffield United FA Cup replay was dire viewing - which it was - but the more I see Chiles the more he reminds me of Benny, that gormless character from the old soap, Crossroads.

Weds: A delegation from Qatar come to London and insist that, because of a breakthrough in the technology of air-cooling systems, they will after all be able to stage the 2020 World Cup in the summer. Oh and for good measure the ‘dry’ country will also turn water into wine for that month.

Thurs: West Ham co-owner David Gold admits that if the club were in mid-table safety they wouldn’t have appealed against Andy Carroll’s red card. The desperation of the club seemingly relying so much on one player, who has been out of action for six months, starts to look embarrassing.

Fri: Nemanja Vidic comes out and says he WILL leave Manchester United at the end of the season. Hardly good for team spirit. He might as well leave now.

I am hearing

It wasn’t the best day for Adam Johnson to have Roy Hodsgon watching him as Sunderland slumped to a 2-0 home defeat to Hull.

Johnson, though, is in line for an England recall for the friendly international against Denmark next month.

So too is Raheem Sterling.

Sterling has not appeared for England since Hodgson gave him a premature debut 15 months ago.

But Sterling’s current excellent form and goals - not least in Liverpool’s 5-1 win over Arsenal - have put him back in the frame.

What could also help the Liverpool player force his way into England’s World Cup squad is the understanding he has forged with striker Daniel Sturridge, who is now a cert to go to Brazil.

*************************************************************

I am also hearing

One of the reasons Manchester United have yet to strike a new kit contract with Nike is because Puma are seriously considering entering the big-money league of shirt deals in the Premier League.

Traditionally Puma have not been big players in the shirt market in England.

But they have just teamed up with Arsenal in £150million five-year deal.

It has been reported in Italy that Puma could then help the Gunners fund the summer signing of Mario Balotelli, who is one of their sponsored stars.

But I understand the German company are currently analysing the viability of a deal with United.The cost of a new deal with United could be up to £300million for five years.

Although if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League the true value of what has been expected to be a record shirt deal could well be reduced.

There was plenty of fanfare about David Beckham ‘taking over’ the Miami football franchise last week.

Don’t be surprised if players on his shopping list include Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole.

Miami nice: David Beckham announced the launch of his MLS franchise this week

Targets? Beckham could move to sign Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole for his side

The word in the TV world is that a sort
of This is Your Life style TV interview with Sir Alex Ferguson is being
planned by a production company.

Nobody knows which channel will pay for it or who will be the inquisitor.

It’s
safe to say it won’t be Jon Snow, who had Fergie twitching a bit when
he was grilled after releasing his autobiography on Channel 4 News.

No doubt Alastair Campbell and Piers Morgan will walk over broken glass to get the gig but it’s unlikely.

Man in the stands: Sir Alex Ferguson could do a big TV interview now he is in retirement

One suspects Fergie will want someone with gravitas like David Dimbleby, Michael Parkinson or Jeremy Paxman.

The great challenge though will be to make sure it is not just a love-in.

And
also given that Fergie has penned two autobiographies in the last 15
years we all know many of the answers to some of the obvious big
questions.

For better or worse we all know what he thinks of Beckham, Keane, Ronaldo, Rooney, Robson, etc.We even know he much prefers Gordon Brown to Tony Blair.

But given the depth of his book it is clear he has so many fascinating views and insights.

So what to ask?

Well here is a possible first eleven.

In the chair: Piers Morgan and Sir Michael Parkinson are two possible candidates to interview Ferguson

All other suggestions are welcome.

Given how things have gone wrong for Manchester United this season, would he be tempted to comeback as manager?

Why did he recommend David Moyes to take over from him and despite all his success does he think he has left a decaying and ageing squad?

Does he fear that United could go into decline and not win a title for as long as Liverpool have gone without winning one after all their years of dominance?

If he was still manager and he had the chance of signing either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, which one would he sign?

He is regarded as the best all time British manager, but who does he thinks was the best before him?

As an admirer of great world leaders through history who is the one he most admires? And what did he think of Margaret Thatcher?

Who in his view is the best British footballer of all time?

Does he actually enjoy the game anymore?

Will England ever win the World Cup?

Who is his favourite actor/favourite movie?

If he was a tree was sort of tree would be he be?

And does he remember how many times he was sent off as player?

Ignore the stat and spin doctors, Roy

Football is not science. But there is a big industry out there trying to make it so.

Backroom staff at clubs are now swelling with fitness gurus, IT staff, psychologists, masseurs and dieticians. Maybe at some clubs even beauticians.

Statistics are banded about ad infinitum and more managers seem to rely on stats. Some managers now judge players more on what they are told by the analysts than their coaches and old-school scouts. Formations are often based on what the data says even down to when a substitution should be made.

The distance a player has covered on the pitch has become point of fascination, completed passes are championed, so-called assists are now spoken of in the same breath as a goal. Percentages of possession or shots on goals are often a matter of pride even when a team has lost.

Throwing the game away: England's Six Nations defeat in France came after star man Danny Care was substituted

Tactics are now forged on a laptop spreadsheet rather than the back of a fag packet. It’s hailed as all being very modern and those who question the invasion of consultants into the dressing are usually dismissed as dinosaurs.

A whole new industry of i-pad warriors has sprung up. But is all this modernism really progress and making the game better?

FOTB

Ian Wright is one of my favourite football people even though we once fell out big time.

He
played with passion, pride and no little panache. He wore his heart on
his sleeve and since becoming a pundit he has never been afraid to cut
through the c***.

Even when what he says might be wrong you respect his right to think he’s well, Wright.

But
on Saturday’s evidence, as Arsenal slumped to a 5-1 defeat at
Liverpool, he was wrong last week to start talking of the Per
Mertesacker (below) and Laurent Koscielny central-defensive partnership in the
same breath as the old Tony Adams and Steve Bould duo.

For them to break the mould it requires 10 years of stoicism not seven months.

Foot on the ball, Wrighty!

Well in other sports, where the geeks seem to have inherited the earth, a backlash is beginning. Former England cricket captain Mike Atherton recently suggested that one of the reasons England failed so dismally in the Ashes was that the entourage of coaches and advisors has become so influential that the players’ minds are left in a spin with all the complex advice and coaching ideas they are given.

Last week Sir Clive Woodward - hardly a Luddite - pinpointed one of the reasons England’s rugby team threw away victory against France was because coach Stuart Lancaster had appeared to become a slave to the stats with his substitutions. Most ridiculous was taking off scrum-half Danny Care, who had been the catalyst of England stirring comeback,

It was clearly pre-planned but Care was playing so well that, even if the stats said he had run himself into the ground, that very unscientific but proven attribute of a sportsman who is playing out of his skin, getting a second wind, would have seen Care carry on and taken England over the line. With other subs made to order England lost their momentum and France nicked the game at the end.

As Woodward pointed out ‘Why end a game with your weakest team.’ He then added: ‘I fear science has become too important. Are England making substitutions based on what GPS data is saying? Science is there to reinforce and challenge but it should never define what you do. He's covered X yards during the week and his heartrate will be Y so bring him off with 20 minutes left. If any player cannot last the 80 minutes then they should not be in the squad.’

Quite.

Food for thought: Steven Gerrard scored the goal that took England to the World Cup after 87 minutes

Thankfully in competitive football subs are - for the time being at least - restricted to three players thus, to a degree, limiting the chaos that can be caused by mass changes. But too many decisions on team selection and tactics are now being swayed by the stat men and pen-pushing gurus.

When it boils down to it, it won’t matter a hill of fava beans at the World Cup in Brazil this summer which players have done the best bleep test, what their ratio of body fat is or what sort of special mattress they sleep on when it comes to going the extra mile. It will be the players who have the desire and lust to push their talent to another level and play with a certain passion who do so.

It is something Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari recognises: ‘My priority is to ensure that the players feel more amateur than professional. Thirty to forty years ago the effort was the other way. Now there is so much professionalism we have to revert to urging players to like the game, to love it, to do it with joy.’

If Roy Hodgson adopts a similar philosophy rather than succumb to the stat and spin doctors England might just do better at the finals than most people think.

Back Heel

Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester City last week was a tremendous spectacle. As Sportsmail’s Jeff Powell rightly put it in his column on Friday, it was a grown up football match.

It was clash of strategy and wills rather than cheap thrills. It was also played in fine spirit despite the acerbic nature of Chelsea’s rope-a-dope tactics

But only one thing let it down in terms of it being a ‘battle’ was the sight of Samuel Eto’o and Yaya Toure swapping shirts. That luvvy-duvvy act is becoming far too frequent in the Premier League.

It's not a friendly: Samuel Eto'o (right) comforts Yaya Toure at the Etihad Stadium last Monday

Best of enemies: Roy Keane (left) gets to grips with midfield nemesis Patrick Vieira in 1999

Swapping shirts at the end of stoic encounter at World Cup - like Pele and Bobby Moore did in 1970 - or a cup final is fine. But not during regular league games, please.

It should be banned. It’s far too ego-centric - it’s also disrespectful to fans who wear their teams colours with pride and wouldn’t dream of swapping scarves.

We also surely still want the idea that - at least during a game - opposing players don’t really like each other. They might have kissed and made up now, but do you ever think it crossed the minds of Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira to swap shirts when they played against each other?

With Arsenal taking on Manchester
United this week here is a reminder of the edge there was ahead of a
clash between the two sides in February 2005. Before United's 4-2 win at
Highbury, Keane is heard saying to the Senegalese-born France
international: 'If you love Senegal so much, why don't you go play for
them?'

After that it all went off.

BTW

The FA were quite right to uphold the verdict of the panel that decided not to overturn Andy Carroll’s red card.

Thankfully West Ham eventually accepted the situation. Had they pushed the envelope any further with legal action then it wouldn’t be long before we would see lawyers running up and down the touchline to question every decision.

What happens on the pitch stays on the pitch and the authority of the FA has to be respected otherwise where would it end ?

Justice? Andy Carroll (left) has been banned for three matches after his red card against Swansea

I-Bet

The FA Cup has received a huge shot
in the arm given the draw for the fifth round, which means at least two
super powers will be knocked out. The two diamond ties see Manchester
City play Chelsea while Arsenal are at home against Liverpool.

There is also a twist of romance with Everton boss Roberto Martinez facing one of his former clubs, Swansea.

Martinez
of course won the competition with Wigan last season. And Everton, who
were a clever money shot at the start of the tournament at 10-1 ( tipped
here before the third round), are now 6-1 third-favourites behind Man
City (10/3) and Arsenal (9/2), according to Coral.

There
is still value to get on Everton now. But given the schedule Arsenal
face, Liverpool could well win at the Emirates so 6-1 on them right now
is worth a punt especially after Saturday’s 5-1 win against the Gunners.

If the law of the land came into play on the pitch then players in some situations could become liable to custodial sentences rather than suspensions.

Yes, Chico Flores made a meal of his aerial clash with Carroll and maybe persuaded referee Howard Webb, after consultation with his assistant, to issue a red rather than yellow card for an action that was deemed use of excessive force and endangering an opponent rather than being merely reckless. At this point pundits have to understand ‘intent’ doesn’t come into the equation.

Perhaps it was harsh. A borderline call. But the bottom line is Carroll was guilty of one simple thing. Stupidity.

He got himself embroiled in an unnecessary tangle on the halfway line at a time when his team were in total control of the game and he had been playing so well.

In doing so he ran the risk of England’s World Cup referee seeing it at as red card offence at the very time refs have been told they have been too lenient, not least because he had got away with a ‘dig’ on Flores in the first half.

If no-one has the balls to tell him that, Carroll will always be a liability.